A New Dawn
by Sedi
Summary: After an accident, Max has to move to Tokyo with his mom to start a new life. He makes new friends and enemies at his new school, and life seems normal at first. Unbeknownst to him, his new house is haunted. AU, Max/Rei, hints of Tyson/Max
1. Betrayed and Wounded

A New Dawn  
  
By: Sedi  
  
  
  
^^' My first AU! And my first time doing a couple OTHER than Rei/Kai... XD Yes, this was difficult to decide... Jade isn't a Mary Sue, and is a guy, and has no real importance in the fic. Except for what happens in the middle, but that's just about it. Beyblading doesn't exist in this ficcie. Anyway... Read on, dudes!  
  
  
  
Chapter One: Betrayed and Wounded  
  
Jade rambled on about a group of people he had met in a bar the other day, while Max listened, pretending to be eager for the details that poured out of the black-haired boy's mouth. The blonde teenager wasn't as enthused as he let on, though.  
  
Jade was Max's only friend in the small, trashy town he lived in. The town didn't bother him much, he actually in a way liked it, besides the fact that it was more loaded with gangs than Tokyo was. And from what Max was hearing, the group that Jade was describing sounded like a gang to him.  
  
"And there was this hot chick with them too," Jade said, grinning lope- sidedly. "They were pretty cool, you know?"  
  
No, Max didn't know, and he didn't want to either. What was Jade doing in a bar at his age, anyway? Jade was in the same grade as he was, and the only way he could have actually entered was with a fake id, or if the bartender was completely blind, both he knew was very absurd. And Jade didn't seem like the drinking type to him.  
  
But Max just nodded and smiled at him, to show his friend that he was listening and agreeing with everything that he was saying. To Max's dismay, Jade became more persistant in spilling the information before the could ring, which would signify the end of the lunch period.  
  
"I would take you to meet them, but..." Jade paused, and Max knew that he was thinking of an excuse. "But, they're busy, you know? Oh, the bell is gonna ring!" He quickly picked up his tray and rushed towards the trash cans.  
  
Max let out a loud sigh and slouched in his chair. He felt as if he was losing his only friend to a group of gangsters. Maybe this town was as bad as his dad kept telling him. The only reason why they stilled lived there was because his dad wanted to keep him in the same school system, and not move around a lot as a lot of parents do. And plus, Max liked his school. Some people were actually nice, and the education was okay.  
  
Jade returned and was about to sit down to continue his rant, but the bell rang. Max joyfully jumped up from his seat. "See ya, Jade!" Then he ran off to his next period class.  
  
The blonde boy's friend stared as he dashed off. "I guess he forgot we have the same class together?"  
  
  
  
Max jogged into his father's hobby shop and smiled at him. "Hi Dad! How's business?"  
  
"Slow as ever," his dad grumbled. "But when you get into college, I'm moving the hell out of this damn town. Uhm, excuse my language..."  
  
"S'okay Dad, I hear it a lot from other people."  
  
"Like Jade, for instance?"  
  
Max looked up at his dad. "Dad, I've been friends with Jade since the third grade, and nothing has happened to me yet, has it?" He walked over to the counter and leaned on it. "You're so paranoid sometimes, Dad!"  
  
"This place is enough to make you paranoid. The only reason why I'm living here is because I was born and raised here. But I still regret not getting out of here after I met your mom. Do you have any homework?"  
  
Max blinked at the quick subject change, then responded,"No, none today. I'm so glad it's Friday! Do you need any help here in the shop?"  
  
"No... But I want you to start supper for us, will you? I'll be quite busy here, customers or no."  
  
"Okay, then I'm gonna take a walk." Max ran outside of the shop.  
  
"Be back by six, and stay away from downtown!" His father shouted after him.  
  
  
  
Max rolled his eyes as he walked down the streets. His father always told him to stay away from downtown, but the whole city is pretty bad. Downtown is only slightly worst. But his father knew that his son needed some freedom, so he let him wander around. Even though there was some restrictions on how far he could travel, Max didn't really mind.  
  
The blonde boy then heard voices around the corner, and stopped before turning it. For some reason, the voices of gangs were easily distinguishable from other citizens, but that's probably because all the gangs knew how to do was talk about murder, rape, and other trash like that. This particular one was talking about severely hurting someone.  
  
"You have to prove yourself, Brad."  
  
Brad... That's Jade's real first name. Max's eyes widened, but then he regained his composure when thinking,'But there are probably tons of guys named Brad in this town. That's why I call him Jade, his middle name.' He had to stifle a giggle. 'I can't believe I actually think that Jade would join something so lowly!'  
  
He began to turn around and walk back so he could avoid the gang, but stopped when he heard another voice.  
  
"I'd do anything to join. What do I have to do?" It was Jade. Max couldn't believe it.  
  
'I have to stop him,' he thought ergently. The blond boy span back around and turned the corner. "Jade!"  
  
Jade turned away from the group of people and blinked at him, paling. "Uh, uhm..."  
  
A man in a black leather jacket and the stereotypical gangster outfit stepped up beside Jade. "Do you know this kid, Brad?" He glared down at the younger boy, then turned his attention to poor Max.  
  
"What makes you think that I do?" Jade scoffed, faking anger with ease. "Ch', I've never seen the guy in my life. Who are you?" He scowled at Max, as if to say "don't ruin my plans", which was probably what he was thinking.  
  
Max stared at Jade in shock. His own best friend was betraying him. He couldn't believe it.  
  
"J-Jade..."  
  
"Who's Jade?" Jade glared at Max. "What are you talking about?"  
  
"Here's your chance," the older man suddenly said to Jade. He slipped a gun in the younger boy's hand. "Here's your chance to prove yourself. Go ahead," he said as he saw Jade's hesitation. "Do it. Plus, it'll be like a test to see how good your aim is." The man pointed at Max's heart. "Right there. Hit him right there."  
  
Max continued staring as Jade lifted the gun and pointed it at him, his hand shaking. The blondie was too scared to move, so he just stayed still. He was more occupied looking at Jade's face instead of the gun.  
  
"Ja-" A shot echoed through the air, and a bullet ripped right through Max's right elbow. He cried out in pain as blood gushed out of the elbow, staining his white t-shirt with red.  
  
"You didn't miss him, right?" Max heard the man mutter to Jade. "You're just toying around with him. Good. Now, try again. This time, hit him in the right spot."  
  
Jade lifted the gun and aimed it at Max again. Max, gripping his elbow with his other hand, stared at him like deer in headlights, teary-eyed. The other boy hesitated, then lowered the gun. "I can't... I..."  
  
"You idiot," the man hissed. "If we let him live, he'll go to the cops and then we'll both be in trouble." He grabbed the gun from Jade. "Test failed."  
  
The man pointed the gun at Max, ready to pull the trigger. Suddenly Jade tackled the guy to the ground and shouted,"No! Don't hurt him!" He growled and struggled to get Jade off of him, but surprisingly the younger boy was able to keep him restrained to the ground. He lifted the gun to shoot Jade, but the boy swiped his hand away before he could.  
  
Another shot rang.  
  
Jade's head jerked up in surprise and looked at Max, who was collapsed on the ground, his left knee bleeding profusely. "Max!"  
  
Then they heard sirens getting closer. The man shoved the distracted Jade off of him and ran down the streets, disappearing into an alley. Jade shakily stood up, and looked down at his hand, which held the gun. The man had put the gun back in his hand.  
  
A patrol car swerved into sight and quickly stopped by the sidewalk. Jade dropped the gun in panic and turned to run, but the policeman jumped out of the car and grabbed his hands, then placed them in handcuffs while giving him his rights. Another policecar parked behind the first one, and the police officer in that one ran up to Max.  
  
Max stared up at the sky, not giving notice to the man. He was losing blood fast, and before the police could say anything, he closed his eyes and passed out without a word.  
  
  
  
'He betrayed me... He shot me... He tried to run... Why? Why, Jade?'  
  
Max slowly opened his eyes. For a second he only saw white, then his eyes came into focus. He soon realized that he was lying in the bed of a hospital room. He groaned when pain shot up in his wounded knee and elbow.  
  
"Max?" The blonde boy looked to his side and saw his dad sitting on a chair beside his bed. "Maxie... How are you feeling?"  
  
He moved his lips, but no sound came out. He tried again, and was able to murmur,"Pain."  
  
His father leaned in closer to him and ruffled his hair. "The doctors said you'll be able to be out of here in five days, but you'll have to remain in a cast on your leg for a while. And you'll need to use crutches. The bullet shattered your knee joint, but your elbow got lucky."  
  
Max nodded as fast as his strength would let him, which was not much, then softly sighed. He was going to miss so much school for this, and he didn't want to have to face Jade again.  
  
"Who did this to you? I haven't been able to talk to the police any, but a hospital worker said that they arrested some kid with a gun and sent him to the detention center."  
  
The teen moved his mouth again and uttered,"Two," then fell silent again.  
  
His dad shook his head and replied,"I'm sorry, I shouldn't be making you talk." Then, he quickly added, as if he didn't want to,"Your mother was in here."  
  
Max slowly turned his head to look at his dad again, his eyes gradually widening. "... Mu... m...?"  
  
"Sh, sh," he hushed. "I talked to her. When you are able to get out of the hospital, you're going to live with her. She decided to move from America to Tokyo. When I called and told her about you, she caught the nearest plane to get here."  
  
'What? But how could she have already came here? How long was I knocked out?'  
  
As if Max's dad could read his mind, he said,"You've been in here for two days now. It's Sunday. You'll be able to get out by Friday and start a new school Monday." He smiled weakly. "Won't it be great? You'll get new friends..."  
  
"No," Max mumbled. "No..."  
  
"I don't like this anymore than you do, Maxie... But you have to. I don't want you to grow up in this enviroment anymore. You'll be better off with your mother in Tokyo. I promise, when I get the money, I will move the Tokyo too and you can stay with me. I promise."  
  
Max felt a tear trail down his cheek. "Dad..."  
  
His dad gently hugged him, trying not to hurt him. Max did feel a little pain, but it felt great to have his father hug him. He weakly lifted his good arm and put it on the man's back then gripped his shirt.  
  
"Love... you... Dad..."  
  
  
  
~To Be Continued  
  
  
  
Poor Maxie... u.u Don't worry, he'll be better. ^_^ And the shounen-ai will be popping up sometime, I promise. But until then, please review! Reviews inspire me! Hehe! 'N Maxie fans, dun kill me... o.o 


	2. First Day Jitters

A New Dawn  
  
By: Sedi  
  
  
  
El numero dos! Hehe! ^_^ Grr... I hate Spanish class... I hat skol. Dun ned skol. I no stoopid. I ned no edumakashion! XP Heh heh... Anyway... commence to chapter two! Mweh heh...  
  
  
  
Chapter Two: First Day Jitters  
  
Max looked out the window of the car and stared at the house. It was pretty big, about two stories high. In place of normal doors were the sliding kind that was made of glass. The windows were circular, and the vines that grew up the sides of the house made it seem ancient. He'd have to say that the house is at least fifty years old.  
  
Parked infront of the house was a U-haul van and a green car, which Max recognized as his mother's, Judy. He quickly looked at his father, who was sitting in the driver's seat and pulling up into the side of the street. His father seemed focused, but somewhat broken at the thought of leaving his son. Max shifted in the seat uncomfortably, and looked out the window again. U-haul men walked out of the house, stepped into the van, and drove off.  
  
"Do you want me to walk you up to the house, or will you be fine?"  
  
Max looked at him. He knew that his dad didn't want to face his mother, not yet anyway, so he wasn't going to make him. "I'll be fine, Dad, don't worry." He faked a smile. "I'm always fine, aren't I?"  
  
His father stared at Max for a minute, then reached over and ruffled his son's hair. "Take care of yourself and that knee of yours. Don't get into any trouble. Be good at school. And always try your best, no matter what. You're a great kid, Max."  
  
Max smiled for real this time. "Sure, Dad..." He grabbed his bag out of the backseat of the car and stepped out of it then shut the door. "I'll miss you," he said through the opened window.  
  
"I'll miss you too."  
  
The blonde boy turned around and headed up towards the house, limping on his only crutch with ease. It had an almost spooky aura to it that sent shivers down his spine. He limped up to the door and knocked. Almost immediatly it flunged open. Judy stepped outside to hug her son, and he hesitantly returned it.  
  
"I missed you so much, Maxie... It's been too long."  
  
Two whole years. That's more than too long, that's an eternity. A big chunk out of his life. Max stared up at his mother, fighting back tears. Then he looked back to see that his father had already left. He already missed him.  
  
"Come in..." She lifted the bag out of Max's hand and walked back inside.  
  
Max silently followed her through the small hallway and into the living room, and looked around. The house was very old-fashioned. The floor was made of wood, as was the walls and ceiling. He could tell where electricians did a sloppy job of installing electricity. Some of the light switches were on backwards, and the above fan looked as if it were about ready to fall. Max made a mental note not to step under it anytime soon.  
  
Judy set the bag on a white sofa. "Well what do you think? I know it isn't much, but I was in a hurry to move into Tokyo. I was hoping that me and you could remodel it a bit. What do you say?"  
  
The blonde boy only nodded. For once, he didn't feel like talking or being his cheerful self.  
  
"Well..." Judy hesitated. She could feel Max's uncomfortableness. Then she suggested,"How about I give you a tour of the house? You'll need to know where the bathroom is sooner or later." She giggled in an attempt to cheer her son up.  
  
"That'd be great," Max replied, faintly grinning. "And after that, can we get something to eat?"  
  
Inspired by his son finally getting a bit talkative, Judy added,"Sure, then maybe we can get some stuff unpacked. I already have a bed in your room. I decided to let you have the first floor room, since it might be too much of a hassle for you to try getting up and down the stairs every day. It's a good thing there's a full bathroom on the ground floor..." She trailed off, then smiled at Max. "Well, let's go!"  
  
Judy walked into another room slowly, and Max had to take a second to reposition himself on his crutch before following her. They walked into a small kitchen, which also had sloppy installments of appliances. Max's mom didn't seem to mind though.  
  
"This is the kitchen, which is the last thing I want to remod-" Suddenly a phone rang. Judy took a cellphone out of her pocket and turned it on. "Hello? .... Yes.... Okay...."  
  
Max let his eyes wander around the kitchen as he shifted on his crutch again. He then looked at his mother, and remembered what his father had said to him about her before. She was a busy woman who worked in some lab, and was always on call. Most of the time she had to go off to work in the middle of the weekend.  
  
Sure enough, when Judy hung up, she asked Max,"Do you think that you can be on your own here for a few hours?"  
  
The blonde boy nodded. "Yeah, sure..."  
  
"Okay. There's Ramon Noodles in one of the cabinets, so get yourself some dinner soon. Make yourself at home and explore it a little. Just don't attempt the stairs. Wait until that leg of yours gets a little better, okay?" Judy kissed her son on his forhead, picked up a set of keys off of a table, and swiftly walked out of the door.  
  
Max limped up to the window and watched his mother's car pull away from the house and down the street. "I guess... I guess I have the house to myself for a while." He sighed and went back into the living room, careful to walk around the fan on the ceiling, then flopped down on the sofa.  
  
The teen boy stared at the ceiling for a moment, then suddenly shivered. "This is nuts," he muttered to himself. "It's only the beginning of October and I'm already getting cold. Does this place even have heating?" With the help of his crutch, he stood back up and limped into a hallway.  
  
Max opened the first door in the hallway and saw that it was the bathroom. The electricians actually did a good job installing the shower, sink, and toilet. Either that, or they hired different electricians for that job. There were a few boxes stacked ontop of the toilet and sink. Probably full of towels, washclothes, and shower curtains, Max decided.  
  
He closed the door and wobbled over to the next door, then opened it. It was a plain room, with only a bed and a few boxes lying around.  
  
"Must be my room," he said outloud, not caring that no one was around to hear him.  
  
The boy walked to the end of the hallway and walked into the last door at the end of it. He was surprised to find himself on a porch in the back of the house. The porch definently did not match the house, and was for sure an add-on. Even though it was made out of wood, the material seemed newer. Wire was inplace of windows; the door leading outside was also made of wire and wood.  
  
Max stepped up to a window and looked out of it. He saw a small field that looked quite gloomy. There were many plants, but almost all of them were dying. The only one that actually seemed to be alive was a large, leaf-less tree that stood in the middle of the field a good hundred yards away from the house. Everything else, obvious failed attempts at making the place look more cheerier, was dying around it.  
  
"How depressing..."  
  
"What's depressing?" Asked a calm voice.  
  
Max's eyes widened as he spun around as fast as he could, but lost his balance as he tripped over his crutch. The poor boy started to fall, but was caught by a pair of arms. Max quickly looked up at a pair of smokey eyes. The guy who caught him chuckled.  
  
"Hey, sorry I scared you, bud!" He held Max with one hand, and retrieved the crutch with the other, then gave it to him. "I didn't think you were so jumpy."  
  
Bude? Max leaned on the crutch again, and glared at the other boy. "Who are you, and what are you doing in here?"  
  
"Chill! My name's Tyson." Tyson gave Max a goofy grin. "I saw a moving van right outside here, so I just came here to see who was moving in. But no one answered when I knocked, so I just went in to see if someone was really moving in here."  
  
"Oh..." Max reshifted on his crutch. "Well, I'm Max." He looked at the other boy, and couldn't help but let his instincts kick in. He giggled and held out his crutch-free arm. "It's nice to meet you, Tyson."  
  
Tyson took Max's hand and shook it. "It's nice to meet you too, Maxie!"  
  
Max glanced at Tyson then looked away. Only three people call him Maxie, and that's his mom and dad, and Jade. But, not wanting to worry his new friend, Max said,"You wanna sit down or something? Want anything to drink?"  
  
"Something to drink would be nice," Tyson answered. "But I'll get it, you sit down."  
  
"Tyson, I'm not a cripple. I can get it." Before Tyson could answer, Max limped back inside and into the kitchen, the smokey eyed before not far behind him.  
  
"Sorry if I offended you in any way," he said apologetically. "So, what did happen to you?"  
  
"I prefer not to talk about it," Max murmured while looking through cupboards. He finally found one with glasses in it and pulled two out, then wobbled over to the fridge. He opened it and was disappointed to find that there was only milk in it.  
  
"I understand." He looked into the fridge also. "Your mom and dad don't like to shop much?"  
  
"We just moved in," Max replied. "And it's just me and my mom. Dad lives in a different town. I used to live with him, but then I moved in with Mom today."  
  
Tyson nodded, took the milk out of the fridge, and filled both glasses with it. Max took it from his hands when he was done and put it back in the fridge. They both walked back into the living room, Tyson carrying the drinks, and sat on the sofa. When Max set his crutch on the ground, Tyson handed him his milk.  
  
"So where is your mom?"  
  
"She had to go back to work today, some kind of emergency. She's on call on the time, so she frequently has to go to some lab outside of her actual working hours. At least, that's what my dad told me. I guess he was right. I hope she isn't gone too much."  
  
Tyson grinned his goofy smile again. "Don't worry your blonde head off about it! If your mom is ever gone again, just call me, okay?" He whiped out a pen from nowhere, took Max's hand, and wrote a number on it. "It's a good think Kenny gave me this pen after school. I don't think you'll be able to find anything to write with, with all of these boxes stacked around."  
  
Max blinked at the number on his hand. He then broke into another smile, grateful to already have a good friend. "Thanks!" He giggled. "I'll write this down on paper later, when Mom gets back. She might know which box is which, 'cause I sure don't." He took a drink of his milk, and Tyson followed this suit.  
  
Then, Tyson looked at his watch. "Great, it's five already. Grandpa will want me home by now to help him with dinner. I'll come by again tomorrow, okay? I'll help you unpack and stuff."  
  
"Thanks Tyson, I'd really appreciate that!" Max grinned at him.  
  
Tyson winked at him and said,"Until then, see ya later!" He walked out of the front door, gently closing the door behind him, and ran back down to the streets.  
  
Max sighed, then used his crutch to again get up from the sofa. 'This is becoming a chore,' he thought. The blonde boy walked back down the hallway and onto the porch again. He looked at the tree, then shivered for the third time.  
  
"What's wrong with me?" he wondered. Then, dismissing it as just first day jitters, he walked to the kitchen to make himself Ramon Noodles for dinner.  
  
  
  
~To Be Continued  
  
  
  
I'll get the next chapter of this up after I'm done with another chapter of Vampire's Winter. Unless I decide to work on this again before that... I'm really enjoying writing this! I'm still trying to think the whole plot out, althought I know what I'm gonna do in the end of this fic. It'll be a sort of evil surprise. *demented grin* 


	3. Reflection of Amber Eyes

A New Dawn  
  
By: Sedi  
  
  
  
Yay, chapter three! ^^ I'm really loving this fanfic... Thanks to everyone who reviewed! It's greatly appreciated! You guys are so awesome! ^_^ And don't worry, Rei will be popping up soon. It's kinda obvious that he makes some kind of appearance in this chapter. *points at the chapter title* And yes, this will be mostly Max/Rei.  
  
  
  
Chapter Three: Reflection of Amber Eyes  
  
Tyson had kept his promise, and returned the next day. The boy didn't knock and just barged in, much to Judy's surprise. He dashed past her and right into Max's room. Max was still asleep, and didn't even stir when Tyson entered. The smokey eyed boy started shaking the blonde, until he finally opened his blue eyes.  
  
"Eh... Tyson...? What are you doing here?" Max blinked and yawned, arms outstretched.  
  
Tyson grinned and picked up Max's crutch. Judy then ran in the room. "Who the hell are you?" She yelled at him, grabbing the crutch from him. Tyson extended a hand.  
  
"My name's Tyson, ma'am!"  
  
"Don't worry mom, he's okay," Max assured her. "I just met him yesterday while you were gone. He came here to help me unload all of my stuff."  
  
Judy hesitated and reluctantly shook Tyson's hand. He shook it vigorously, the stupid grin still on his face. "It's nice to meet you, Miss! Let me be the first in this lowly neighborhood to say that your son is drop-dead cute!"  
  
Max and Judy stared at Tyson as if he had just announced that he was a fifty year old man stuck in a teenager's body. Tyson shifted nervously. "I didn't mean it that way! Well, yeah, he's cute, and, well, he is! I mean... There are just a few girls around here who would definently like to meet him, if ya know what I mean." He winked at the blondes.  
  
The blonde boy blinked, then grinned and giggled. "You're strange, you know that, Tyson?"  
  
"You better believe it!" Tyson announced proudly.  
  
Judy laughed and handed Max his crutch, who swung out of bed and used it to balance himself while standing up. "Before we start, can I have breakfast first, Tyson?"  
  
"Of course! No one can start their day without breakfast. You wouldn't mind if I join you, would you?" Tyson gave Max a cheeky grin that was hard to resist.  
  
The blonde boy giggled again. "Sure, Tyson. What're we having, Mom?"  
  
"Pancakes, if you don't mind," Judy replied.  
  
"I wouldn't mind any food that you put infront of me!" Tyson exclaimed.  
  
Judy smiled and said,"I really like your friend, Max. He seems better than Jade. Well, from what I heard about him," then exited the room.  
  
Tyson looked at Max questioningly. "Who's Jade?"  
  
"I'll tell you later," the other boy answered quickly, hoping that he wouldn't ask again.  
  
Both boys walked out of the bedroom and into the kitchen. Judy was quickly stirring a bowl of pancake mix, then paused when she heard her cellphone ring. She eyed her pocket for a moment, then continued stirring, ignoring it. Max blinked.  
  
"Aren't you going to answer it, Mom?"  
  
"It's Sunday," Judy pointed out. "If they really need something done at the lab, then they can contact some other authority. I'm spending today here with you, no matter what the situation. I might not get the chance for a while."  
  
"Well, if I'm going to interfer, then I should leave," Tyson calmly said, about ready to step towards the front door.  
  
"No, it's okay, Tyson," Judy said quickly. "You can stay." She poured some of the pancake batter into a pan ontop of the stove. "After we eat, how about we start painting the living room?" The blonde woman flipped the pancake. "You can help too, Tyson, if you want."  
  
"Yeah, I love painting houses!" Tyson exclaimed. "I helped my friend, Kenny, repaint his bedroom once. It turned out awesome! What color are you painting it? Red, green, orange, what?"  
  
Judy laughed. "I was thinking more of a white, Tyson."  
  
Max giggled at the disappointed look on Tyson's face.  
  
  
  
After eating their breakfast, Judy had gotten out the white paint and rollers, then moved all of the boxes in the living room to the middle of it. "Try not to get any paint in your hair," she warned the two teen boys. "It's hard to get out. Really hard." The two boys nodded in understandment and armed themselves with the rollers.  
  
"Read, set, whiten!" Tyson shouted. He dipped his roller in a paint tray and immediatly started covering the wooden wall with a coat of paint. Max followed this suite, and Judy used a long roller to start painting the ceiling.  
  
Max easily painted with his free arm without a problem in balancing himself on his crutch. 'Using this crutch is really easy. Why was Mom so worried about me going up stairs? I'll probably need the practice anyway, since there are going to be stairs in the high school I'm going to, right? I should try it tonight. Mom won't like it, but she'll be really proud when she seems me at the top of the stairs!' He smiled at the thought.  
  
Tyson looked at him and asked,"What're you smiling about? Enjoy painting this much?"  
  
Not sure what to say, the blonde boy shrugged and giggled. "I'm just so happy to be here. So, what's the high school like here?"  
  
The other teenager responded,"Like any other high school I guess. There are the normal, stereotypical groups in the school, like the preps, goths, freaks, etcetera. Kenny and I are mostly drifters or loners. There aren't many of them. The only other loner that comes to mind right away is Hiwatari Kai, and you want to stay away from him. He's not your average bully that steals your lunch money, but he is easily ticked off."  
  
Max nodded to show that he was absorbing all of the information Tyson was giving him. Yeah, it sounded like any other high school, but he prayed that it wouldn't be the same as his old high school. He hoped there wouldn't be anyone like Jade in the school, but even more, Max hoped that Tyson wouldn't end up like him.  
  
But, looking back at the previous day, the blonde boy concluded that it would be almost impossible for Tyson to do anything that was even close to what Jade did. Besides the shot in the elbow, Max believed that Jade had been leading a second life, hanging in bars, probably drinking, making friends with the wrong crowd.  
  
"Is there something wrong?" Tyson suddenly asked, snapping Max out of his thoughts.  
  
He looked at Tyson, then smiled. "No, I'm fine," he replied. Well, he concluded, that settles it. Tyson would never betray me. He's too good of a person.  
  
Max smiled at Tyson again and moved his crutch a bit to regain comfortness, but the end of the crutch hit the pan of paint, causing it to slip. Poor Max slipped with it, and Tyson had to throw up his roller to catch the blonde.  
  
As if in slow motion, the roller flew in the air and landed right in Max's hair with a "splotch" sound. The blonde cringed and said jokingly,"I think I would have rather you let me fall than get a roller stuck in my hair."  
  
"And let you break some other bone? I think not!" Tyson laughed.  
  
"You should go to the bathroom and wash off the paint," Judy said, giggling. "If you don't soon, the paint will dry and it will be very hard to get it out then."  
  
Tyson retrieved his roller from Max's hair, and also took the blonde boy's roller. "You heard your mother, wash up!" he said, trying to put on a fatherly voice, but failing miserably.  
  
Max giggled a "yes Father" and limped into the bathroom. He turned on the sink faucet and lowered his head to let the water run through his blonde hair. After scrubbing it with his hands for a moment, he looked up in the mirror to see if he got it all out, and saw amber eyes instead of his blue ones.  
  
The teen boy gasped and stumbled backwards away from the mirror. It wasn't his reflection in it, but of a boy who looked to be about a year older than him, with raven hair, and a ying-yang headband. The shock on the raven haired boy's face was equal to that of Max's, and the false reflection quickly disappeared, replaced by Max's pale visage.  
  
The blonde boy stepped up to the mirror again, his facial expression still that of horror. He nervously touched the mirror, which felt like, well, a mirror. Nothing out of the ordinary. But something was out of whack. Way out of whack.  
  
Max knocked on the mirror, and it slightly swung open to reveal a medicine cabinet behind it. He opened it all of the way and peered in it. It was empty. 'Well, of course it is, me and Mom just moved in.' He knocked on the back of the cabinet to find that it was solid. There was only wall behind it.  
  
"It was probably just my over-active imagination," Max said, forcing a laugh out of himself.  
  
He closed the cabinet and reached into one of the boxes to pull out a towel. He dried his hair, and immediatly it went into that untamed look it always had. The boy smiled at his reflection, his own reflection, dismissing the earlier apparition as just a sign of him going crazy, then slung the towel over the shower rod and walked back into the living room.  
  
"Sorry I took so long," he said cheerfully. "I needed to make sure that I got all of the paint out."  
  
"No problem," Tyson replied, handing the blonde his paint roller back.  
  
"Max, is something wrong? You're pale," Judy asked.  
  
"No, nothing's wrong, Mom," Max lied. "Probably just the cold water. You worry just about as much as Dad."  
  
Judy's eyes reverted away from her son when he mentioned his father and continued painting the ceiling in silence. Tyson blinked at this, and also started back on the wall again. Max sighed. He should have known this would have been Judy's reaction. Whenever he mentioned about one parent infront of the other, they would pretend they didn't hear and continue on with whatever they were doing in silence.  
  
To break the ice, Tyson asked,"So you're going to start school here Monday, Max?"  
  
"Yeah. In all truth, I can't wait, but I'm a little nervous," Max replied, laughing. By then he had forgotten about the raven-haired boy in his mirror and had converted his mind to think about the new school. "This is my first time moving. I never had to go to a new school before."  
  
"Don't worry, Maxie, I'll be with you all the way. Don't forgot, you're going to my school, and I'll protect ya!" Tyson winked at the blonde boy. "Plus, you'll get to meet a few friends of mine, including Kenny."  
  
Max's smile widened. "Great!"  
  
  
  
The alarm clocked beeped, causing Max's eyes to fly open and pound on the sleep button. He sat up in his bed and looked at the digital numbers, which flashed ten o'clock p.m. He used his crutch to get out of his bed, and limped out of his room towards the foot of the staircase, which was in a corner of the living room. He looked around to make sure no one was around. All of the lights were off, from what he could see, so his mom was obviously in bed.  
  
The blonde boy put his good leg on the first step in determination. 'I'm going to make it. I'm not a cripple!'  
  
  
  
~To Be Continued  
  
  
  
Oooo, cliffhanger... Onto the fourth chapter! ^_^ ... Soon... Eh heh... *gets hit with a book* ;; WHO THE HELL KEEPS ON DOING THAT?! Anyway... Merry Christmas folks! 


	4. Nighttime Chills

A New Dawn  
  
By: Sedi  
  
  
  
Whooo, chapter four! ^,^!! We find out what happens to Max! Will he fall down the stairs to his death? Will he make it? Only time will tell... or this chapter. ^^' Also... The first appearance of Kai Hiwatari! Read on, dudes!  
  
  
  
Chapter Four: Nighttime Chills  
  
Max eyed the stairs, when another chill ran down his spin. He shivered as a feeling of discouragement washed over him. He felt like screaming "Stop it!" but didn't, because he knew that the shout would wake his mother. Gulping, the blonde used his crutch to lift his other leg to the same step his left one was on.  
  
Going more slowly than he would have liked, Max continued these tidious steps. He got up to the second step, then the third, then the fourth... The blonde boy smiled.  
  
'This is more easier than I thought. Why is Mom so worried?'  
  
Suddenly, Max gasped as the crutch landed on his foot instead of the step. He quickly used both hands to cover up a yelp, then his hurt leg collapsed, and he fell on the step, grabbing onto the railing so he wouldn't slide down. He used his good leg to kick himself into a sitting position onto the step and stared down the fifteen steps he had climbed. Never before had he remembered feeling so queasy at just looking down a few feet of height. The blonde boy felt stranded, and his leg was hurting badly as if he had broken it again.  
  
  
  
Judy stirred in her sleep when she felt a cold draft on her back, causing her to shiver. She turned over and pulled the covers up tightly around herself, causing her shaking to cease. What caused her eyes to snap open was when she heard an almost distant sounding voice whisper in her ear,"Wake up... Wake up..."  
  
"Max?" she questioned when looking around the room. His son was nowhere to be found. "Just my imagination. Probably a dream. My work is getting to me... or not working is." Judy swung her legs and sat on the side of her bed, yawning. "Thirsty..."  
  
  
  
Max closed his eyes and looked up, then opened them. Suddenly the ceiling seemed more interesting than the fifteen steps he accomplished climbing. But if he got his crutch...  
  
The blonde boy looked down again, eyes searching for the wooden stick of hell. When he saw that it had fell all the way to the bottom of the staircase, his heart sank. The pain in his leg was growing, and it took all he had not to cry out. He tried shifting his leg to a more comfortable position, but it only made the pain worse.  
  
Then, Max heard a door creak open. He looked up to see the door to his mother's room swing open slowly, and she walked out of it. Before she took the first step down the stairs, her eyes swooped down and gasped when she saw her son.  
  
"M-Max!" she stuttered. "What are you...? When...? How...-"  
  
"Mom," Max mumbled. "Can you help me?"  
  
  
  
The next morning, Max woke up rather late. It was already eleven. He swung out of his bed using his crutch, as he made a habit of doing every morning, and immediatly went into the living room. The paint on the wall had dried by then, and looked much better.  
  
"Now all we need is some carpeting, or at least a rug," he mumbled to himself, sighing.  
  
The house was quiet, so he thought that Judy needed to go to work that day, even though it was a Sunday. When he walked into the kitchen, his thoughts were confirmed. There was a note on the fridge from Judy that told him that she got an emergency call and needed to go back to work, and that there was cereal and poptarts in the cabinet.  
  
Max sighed and tossed the note in the trash, then took a poptart out and started munching on it while looking at a few old pictures on the fridge. They were mainly pictures of Judy and her work buddies, and then a few of Max when he was a little kid.  
  
After finishing the poptart and guzzling some orange juice, Max limped to the back of the house to the porch. He planned on doing laps around the field in the back to get more accustomed to his crutches, maybe even checking out that old tree. But those plans quickly dimished when he looked out the window and saw some shuffling in the tree branches. Frowning, he stepped outside. The day was fairly warm, and there was no breeze, let alone wind.  
  
The blonde boy walked over to the tree as quickly as his crutches would allow. He looked up in the tree and said,"Hello?" No answer. He tried again. "Uh... Hello? Is someone up there?"  
  
"What do you want?" a cold voice from up in the branches asked.  
  
"Well... Erm... I just saw something go up in the tree... I guess it was you," Max answered, a little hesitantly. "Ah... I'm Max. I live here now."  
  
"I know," the voice replied.  
  
"It's not like I mind you being up in there," Max kindly said. "It doesn't bother me. It's just... who are you?"  
  
"What's it to you?"  
  
The blonde boy wasn't sure what to say. He took a step away from the tree and continued staring at it, trying to see who the intruder was, but failed. Then, a boy jumped from it, barely missing landing ontop of Max. Max stumbled backwards in surprise, and then regained his composure. The boy had two tones of blue hair, slate blue in the front and dark blue in the black, and cold crimson eyes. He didn't waste anytime in turning to leave.  
  
"Wait! What's your name?" Max tried again.  
  
The boy stopped. "If you aren't going to leave me alone about it, then my name is Kai. Happy?"  
  
Max blinked, then said,"You're that guy Tyson was talking about... Nice to meet you."  
  
"Hn," Kai grunted, then continued to march off.  
  
The blonde boy opened his mouth to call out to the other, but thought better of it and shook his head. 'Tyson wasn't kidding when he said that Kai was a loner. What was he doing in my tree anyway?' He walked back inside the house, forgetting about his past plans. 'Maybe a nice, long shower will help...'  
  
"He's rude, isn't he?"  
  
Max's eyes widened when he heard a different voice behind him, then carefully turned around as not to trip over the crutch. His eyes immediatly met with amber ones. The same pair he saw in the mirror the other day. The blonde boy gasped and stepped backwards as if to get away. The raven-haired boy stepped forward towards Max.  
  
"Don't run, please," he begged.  
  
The other boy gulped and took another step back, his body threatening to tremble, but finally regained most of his composure. He got a good look at the amber eyed boy this time. He couldn't the other day because he was too much in shock, and the boy had disappeared before he had the chance.  
  
The raven-haired boy was wearing a shabby red headband with a yingyang on it, and traditional Chinese clothings that were quite dirty and looked as if they've been through hell and back. The boy's long black hair was wrapped with some sort of white clothe, and he was barefooted. It was obvious that he was Chinese. What struck Max the most surprising was one simple fact: he was transparent, like a hologram.  
  
"D-Don't hurt me!" Max squeaked. After that remark, he felt quit stupid, because the other boy had cocked his head to the side in a cute way, looking confused.  
  
"Why would I hurt you?"  
  
"Ah... Uhm..." The blonde boy looked at him sheepishly. "I'm sorry."  
  
"You're strange. Sorry for what?" The raven-haired boy stepped forward again. Max's nerves were about to break and send him running. "There isn't anything you should be sorry for. I understand your fear. I'm the reason why the last people who moved here went away..." The boy sighed sadly.  
  
Max bit his tongue in guilt. This wasn't the face of an evil poltergeist; quite the opposite infact. To make up for his rudeness, he said,"Oh... Well, my name's Max. What's yours?"  
  
"Rei Kon," he answered simple. "It's nice to meet you."  
  
"Want to sit?" Max offered. Rei nodded, and they both walked into the living room then sat on the sofa. "So, you know Kai?"  
  
"Not really. He just comes around here a lot, especially to sit in that tree. I don't know why he does it, but he seems to think in there a lot. And then there's this other guy who comes around with his friends. Tyson. He's... strange. None of them know that I'm here, though. I just watch him."  
  
"What does Tyson do here?" Max asked.  
  
"Well, before he met you, he and his friends would just walk right in and do homework. The front door was never locked. It doesn't really bother me. At least they don't vandalize this place, or change it."  
  
Another wave of guilt hit Max when he thought of yesterday when he, Tyson, and Judy had painted the living room. As if reading the blonde boy's mind, Rei told him,"The white looks nice on the walls. Are you doing that in every room? Because that would be good."  
  
"You're not mad?" Max asked, looking up at him.  
  
"No! Not at all! I guess I'm not that transparent after all," Rei said, laughing.  
  
Max giggled at the joke, the decided to change onto a more serious subject. "So, how did you get, eh, transparent?"  
  
"You can go ahead and say I'm dead, I don't mind. And well, I died about thirty years back. My family lived here after moving from China. There was a gang war going on between three groups, and while walking home one day from the store, I just got shot."  
  
The blonde boy stared at Rei, then blinked. Rei was so open about his death, and he wouldn't even tell Tyson about how he was merely wounded. Max gulped.  
  
"So, what's your story?" the raven-haired boy asked, pointing at the other teen boy's leg.  
  
"A gun shot," he answered. "Just some guy, getting recruited into a gang, had to prove himself and all..." Max's voice slightly lowered. "No big deal."  
  
Rei sympathetically tried to touch Max's shoulder, but the blonde boy shivered and pulled back. "You're cold..." Realization then struck him. "Hey... You're the one who's been giving me chills lately!"  
  
Rei blinked and leaned back away from Max. "I'm sorry... I just, uhm... Don't look where I'm going," he said quickly, lies dripping from all of his words except the last ones. Max continued.  
  
"Last night, Mom said something about getting a chill that woke her up. Did you have anthing to do with it?" he asked accusingly.  
  
The raven-haired boy looked at the ground. "Again, I'm sorry... I just saw you on the staircase, and you looked like you needed help, so I had to get your mom. I didn't want you to know that was here. I'm sorry..." Rei suddenly started to fade.  
  
Max's eyes widened. "Wait! I was rude, I should be the sorry one! Oh, don't go!" Rei completely disappeared from sight. "Rei! Come back! Rei..." He gulped. "I'm sorry..."  
  
The blonde boy felt more depressed than he had felt in a long time. But then again, he had already lost a new-found friend, and in a disappearing act no less. It was enough to send Max shaking again without needing the cold drafts to help.  
  
"But why did he lie to me about the first chills?" Max asked himself. "He was so cold when I touched him. Did he touch me? On the back?" He blinked. "Wait, how did he know about me and Tyson meeting? Is he spying on me?" He then blushed at another thought: "Is he watching me while I take showers?" This caused himself to laugh. "I'm so paranoid, I guess I get it from my dad.  
  
The blonde boy stood up and looked out the front window. The day was bright and sunny.  
  
"I should go outside and enjoy this day. I'll be my last free day before I have to go to school tomorrow."  
  
  
  
~To Be Continued  
  
  
  
What do you guys think about the sizes of each chapter of A New Dawn? Do they need to be longer? And what about details and speed? Am I going too fast or too slow, or at the right place? I need critisism people! 


	5. First Day Killers

A New Dawn  
  
By: Sedi  
I swear I have reasons for not getting this up earlier. I promise. First of all, my computer decided to not let me open up the document for chapter five when I got about ten good paragraphs done, so I had to restart it. I got a little discouraged after that and put it off. Big mistake. Right on January 01, Dad restarted the computer, and it wouldn't boot up. It took us all day to finally get it running. Again, that discouraged me. Then I got sick. Then I got sick again. Now I'm feelin better. So I read everyone's reviews for all of my stories again, got a lil more enthusiasm, and here I am. ^_^ I bring to to chapter five! Reviews are appreciated.  
Chapter Five: First Day Killers  
  
Sighing deeply, Max buried his head in his pillow, then flipped over on his back and looked at his clock. Four o'clock in the morning. He groaned and rolled to his side, and started staring at his crutch leaning against the upper part of the bed, images of the day before were still running through his mind.  
  
"I can't believe how stupid I was, saying that to him," Max murmured to himself. "But... Maybe he was just a figment of my imagination... Yeah..." But as soon as the blonde boy thought of it, he knew it wasn't true. His leg was still sore from his fall on the staircase, and hadn't Judy said that she felt a chill before waking up? Plus, his cold nips felt real enough.  
  
"So that settles it," the blonde boy decided. "I'm living in a haunted house in which the ghost is probably ticked off at me, my mom is always working so I'm practically alone here, and Tyson would think I'm crazy of I say anything about a poltergeist!"  
  
But is Rei really mad at him, or just depressed about it? Max closed his eyes, remembering the growing hurt expression in the Chinese boy's eyes as he had babbled the accusations, then him fading away, apologizing, and vanishing, probably never to be seen again.  
  
Max reopened his eyes, hoping that he would see those amber eyes looking back at him, but alas, was only met with the wooden stick of hell. Deciding to get an early start in the morning, he used the crutch to get out of his bed and hobble over to the bathroom to take a nice, long hot shower.  
  
As he was stepping in the shower, the blonde boy again thought of Rei voyeuring on him in the shower. A small blush crept up to his face as he stripped and stepped into the shower. Instinctively, he looked around, then turned on the faucets. After stepping inside the shower, Max glanced at the mirror, but saw no Rei. Not that he was expecting to see him, after what happened the other day.  
  
"I'm sorry Rei..."  
Max sat on the steps of his front porch, waiting. When he had went to the kitchen to get breakfast, he found a note on the table from Judy saying that she had called Tyson's grandfather and they would pick him up and bring him to school. They will be doing that from now on, since she has to get to work early in the morning and it's a good half hour's drive.  
  
An old, worn-down green car creaked its way by the sidewalk and stopped. Max jumped up and ran down to the car. Tyson was in the passenger seat, grinning out the window.  
  
"Hey Maxie! Ready for the first day killers?" His smile widened.  
  
"Now that you put it that way, I think I'll just go back inside and go back to bed," Max replied, grin matching his friend's, as he hopped in the back of the car. Expecting to see a bent-over old man, the blonde boy looked to the front. Much to his surprise, Tyson's grandfather was anything but. He was in a Hawaiian shirt, jeans, and looked alive and kicking.  
  
"Yo, my man! I hope you're ready for this shindig! This baby can go faster than it looks!" His grandfather's voice broke out.  
  
"Hang on," Tyson mumbled to Max.  
  
Max rolled his eyes. Yeah, sure. Suddenly, Tyson's grandfather slammed on the gas pedal, and the car sped, screeching down the road, nearly giving the poor blonde boy a heart attack.  
Max stumbled out of the car, a bit dizzy. Who knew that that pile of junk could go so fast? He nearly fell to the ground but Tyson, who was already out of the car, quickly caught him and helped him regain his balance.  
  
"I won't even say I warned you," the navy haired boy said, grinning. Max muttered darkly and shot Tyson a glare, making him laugh. "Don't be mad; I told you to hang on. My grandfather may be old but he acts like he's a teenager sometimes."  
  
"Who are you calling old, dawg? Don't forget who beat you in that foot race yesterday. And you are so far behind in your training that it isn't even funny!"  
  
"Training?" Max questioned Tyson.  
  
"Oh, just some voodoo with sticks, nothing much."  
"Voodoo with sticks?! Why you little-" Tyson's grandfather was cut off when his grandson slammed the door shut and ran off, pulling Max with him.  
  
"Hurry before he starts lecturing me!"  
  
After stumbling a bit, Max finally started running with him. "Hey, slow down a bit! I don't think he's going after us."  
  
"Good. The last time I made fun of his so-called sword fighting, he chased me across half the parking lot before catching me and yelling at me about the 'fine arts of sword techniques.' I love him, but he can be such a pain sometimes," Tyson explained, sighing.  
  
Max smiled at him. "You're lucky to have such a great grandfather. I never knew my grandparents, and my mom is working all of the time. My dad and I were close, but now we can't have that kind of relationship until he moves out of the town he's living on."  
  
"Oh... That sucks..." Tyson mumbled.  
  
Seeing that Tyson was starting to get down, Max added, "But hey, s'all good! Can you show me around the school a bit before the bell rings for our first class?"  
  
"Yeah, sure!" Tyson dragged Max off into the school. "There's not much to show, though. Where's your schedule?"  
  
Max handed him his schedule that he got just the other day. "They're the same classes I had in my old high school, just in a different order and stuff. It'll take me a while to get used to, but I think I can handle it."  
  
"You're in none of my classes, darn, "Tyson remarked. "But you're in all of the classes one of my friends is in. His name's Kenny. Which means you're in some of the classes Kai is in. Unlucky you."  
  
"You didn't say much about this Kai last time. Who exactly is he?" Max questioned.  
  
"Well...," Tyson started to reply. "He has two tones of blue hair and crimson eyes, dressed as if he's going to be on Mortal Combat, and-"  
  
He was cut off when a shout of rage erupted from the nearby office. A brown haired girl dressed in all black with blue tinted hippie sunglasses stormed out of it, fuming. She turned around and shouted back inside, "You would have been able to fit me in mechanical drawing if I were a guy!" The girl then turned back around and marched passed the two boys, still pissed.  
  
"Um... Yeah..." Max watched her walk away until she disappeared around the corner.  
  
"Yes, people around here are weird like that," Tyson said. "Weirder than smaller towns' high schools I bet."  
  
The blonde boy nodded in agreement, and both continued walking down the halls.  
  
"As I was saying before, you should avoid Kai, or most likely you'll get your ass kicked by him. He loves 'greeting' the newcomers to this school, and it isn't pretty, trust me."  
  
The description of the blue haired boy sounded familiar to Max, like the guy he saw up in the tree the other day. But he decided not to mention it. He'll just see him for himself.  
  
"Getting off the subject of the sourpuss... There are mainly two people I hang around with in a group, and those are Kenny and Andrew. They're both nice guys, especially Andrew, and Kenny is sort of a computer geek who carries a labtop around all the time. But you'll fit right in, I'm sure of it."  
  
"I hope so. And I really appreciate this, Tyson. I wasn't expecting to make any friends on my first day here, or even before I started school again. You've been great!" Max grinned at Tyson.  
  
"Aw, gee, thanks," Tyson said, grinning back. "Oh, and I forgot to mention... There are some foreigners in this school, so if they talk to you in some mumbo jumbo that you can't understand, most likely they're insulting you, so just ignore them, okay?"  
  
Max nodded in confirmation. He then jumped as the bell rang.  
  
"Aw shit, I'm a mile away from my locker!" Tyson yelled. "I'm going to be late!" He dashed down the hallway, shouting over his shoulder, "Your locker number is on your schedule! Hurry before you're late!"  
  
"Wow," the blonde boy mumbled to himself. "He sure is always worried about being late to something."  
It took Max a while, but he finally found his locker. Turns out, the first number on the locker number would be the number of a section of the building (a freshmen girl pointed that out to him, then called him a cutie and tried giving him her phone number). Then after getting directions from a sophomore, he was able to find his homeroom class.  
  
When he entered the door to his class, almost immediatly a boy with brown hair and glasses that fit over his hair flagged him down.  
  
"Hey!" he ran up to Max. "You must be Max. Tyson's told me a bit about you. We're having a substitute today, so you can sit by me. She won't know either way. I've had her as a substitute before; her name's Ms. Grinch."  
  
'Well, this kid's told me everything but his name,' Max thought.  
  
"Yeah, I'm Max, it's nice to meet you." He flashed his usual grin.  
  
"Oh, I'm sorry, my name's Kenny." Kenny sat at a desk, and Max sat by him. "It gets a bit lonely in these classes. I don't have that many friends, just Tyson and Andrew, and they decided to stick to the other classes."  
  
"'These classes'? 'Other classes'?" Max blinked at Kenny, confused.  
  
"Well, yeah. The advanced courses. Not all of them are advanced, of course, just the mandatory classes. The electives are all with the other people."  
  
"Advanced classes? My mom put me in the advanced classes?!" The blonde sank in his chair and groaned. He then jumped back up when the bell rang again.  
  
"The substitute isn't here on time, as usual," Kenny stated.  
  
Max got himself comfortable again and looked up ahead. He noticed that sitting infront of him was someone with two tones of blue hair, and immediatly recognized him as the guy he saw in the tree the other day.  
  
'I guess this is the Kai guy Tyson was talking about. Fits the description.'  
A lot of the school day passed by without much event. Kenny was very helpful in telling about where they were in each class, and as Tyson had said, Kai was in many of his classes too. Finally lunch came. Max could see Tyson at a table, sitting with a much taller boy. As soon as he saw them, he launched into a run, followed by Kenny, until they reached the table.  
  
"Hey man!" Tyson greeted. "How's the first day coming along for you?"  
  
"Good, thanks to Kenny."  
  
"By the way, this is Andrew, of course." Tyson said, pointing to the tall boy. "Andrew, this is the new guy I was talking to you about, Max."  
  
Andrew grinned and shook Max's hand. "Tyson was right when he said that you were cute."  
  
"He said I was what-?"  
  
Max was cut off when Tyson suddenly shouted, "Hey, I'm going to the lunch line now, bye!" and ran off.  
  
"Excuse him," Kenny apologized. "Tyson can be weird sometimes."  
  
"Sometimes?" Andrew questioned. "Try all of the time."  
  
Max only laughed. 'I guess I am going to fit in nicely here.'  
  
Out of the corner of his eye, the blonde boy saw Kai strolling across the cafeteria. Their eyes made contact, then Kai's crimson eyes narrowed, and he continued walking along. Max inwardly shuddered, then decided to go up to the lunch line himself.  
~To Be Continued  
Yay, five chapters done! ^_^ Between school, working on my site and helping a friend with her site, workin on my original stories, and other crap, it's making me want some break time, thus is the reason why I've been lazy on doin' A New Dawn. But I promise that I will do more chapters in less time.  
  
Please note that I'm still in middle school. The high school in this story is based off of what I've heard about the high school in my town. And the characters in this story are a bit older than what they are in the show. Also, don't worry, Kai isn't going to be a jackass in this fic, or the bully, like some people like to make him when the fic concerns a school. He's just... misunderstood. XD And he ends up playing a semi-important part in the story.  
  
And also, I'm gonna make a cameo appearance in all of my chapter fics, like Stephen King does in his films. ^^;; Just a small appearance in only one chapter in each story, and it'll have no relation to the story. The girl Max and Tyson saw going out of the office pissed off because she didn't get to take mechanical drawing was me. Again, no relation, nada, just a little fun. ^_^;; 


	6. Author Note Sorry

A New Dawn  
  
By: Sedi  
  
Well, sorry to say, but I'm discontinuing this fic. I don't know if it's going to be permanent, but for now I'm not updating it. It's mainly because I lack the inspiration to do it, and because I'm on a major writer's block for this fic. I appreciate everyone's support on this fic, and don't be disappointed when you read this. Like I said before, I might continue it.  
  
If you need something to read, try my other fanfics. Most of them are shounen-ai, and they received a lot more reviews than this one, so they are probably a lot better. If you've already done that, then try goin to my website. I have lots of original fics there, plus my art gallery. Just incase you guys are bored, and have nothing better to do...  
  
Like me. XD And if you're still bored, go to my favorite stories list, or to my links page on my site. I only put up what I think are the best. ^_^ And visit my affiliates too; they're great people!  
  
Luci says hi. Yeah, I know, I'm just trying to take up space... But ff.net won't let me upload anything under a certain number of words, so I kinda have to so I can get this uploaded. Anyway, Lucifer is my cat. My cute cat. My evil cute cat. She's the spawn of Satan himself, I swear. You'll be minding your own business, doing something... Then she'll all of the sudden run up to you and try to scratch the hell outta you! ... Ou... I think I've gotten past the limit...  
  
Nope... Sigh... Oh woe be me... *twidles thumbs* Because I got high, because I got high, because I got hiiigh... Da da da, da, da, da... I was gonna finish this fic, but I got high. I couldn't get the words on Wordpad, because I was high. And I got no reviews, and I know why... Because I got high, because I got high, because I got high...  
  
FINALLY! IT'S GONNA UPLOAD!  
  
Again, thanks for the support, you people are great. And I mean GREAT!  
  
Well, c'ya for now,  
  
-Sedi 


End file.
